'Stranger Things' creators The Duffer Brothers are leaving Netflix for Paramount

The Duffer brothers were basically unknowns when they sold Stranger Things to Netflix, back when the streamer was still finding its footing as a hub for original content. Then came the Upside Down. Stranger Things didn’t just become a hit, it became the Netflix phenomenon. You can argue it’s still the streamer’s biggest success, or at least the one that made the deepest cultural dent. It launched careers, minted household names (Millie Bobby Brown chief among them), and helped define what a “Netflix Original” even meant.

Now that juggernaut is nearing the end. The fifth and final season will roll out in installments this year, with the series finale dropping on New Year’s Eve. Losing new episodes of Stranger Things was always going to sting for Netflix, but the kicker is this: whatever the Duffers cook up next, it won’t live on their platform.

The Duffers’ deal with Paramount kicks in once their current Netflix contract expires in April 2026. It’s a four-year, exclusive arrangement described as “wide-ranging,” covering TV, streaming projects — and most notably, “large-scale, ambitious theatrical films.”

That last bit is particularly noteworthy. Matt and Ross Duffer have only made one feature to date: 2015’s Hidden, a modest thriller that functioned primarily as a calling card. Since then, their creative energy has been devoted almost entirely to Stranger Things. Paramount’s deal offers them a chance to step into feature filmmaking at scale, with the studio backing their vision.

Whether that means entirely original projects or “original” in the Duffer sense, stories heavily built from loving references, remains to be seen. Either way, after a decade of cultural dominance, they’ve earned the cachet to take some big swings.

In their statement, the Duffers said:

We couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining the Paramount family. To be part of that mission is not just exciting – it’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. And to do so at a studio with such a storied Hollywood legacy is a privilege we don’t take lightly. We’re also excited to reunite with our friends Cindy [Holland] and Matt [Thunell], who were among the very first to believe in us and an unusual little script we wrote that became "Stranger Things."

If you’re wondering why the Duffers would walk away from Netflix, which surely would have backed up the money truck to keep them, the answer may lie in the new regime at Paramount. Flush with merger cash, the studio recently installed Cindy Holland as head of streaming and Matt Thunell as president of television. Holland was the executive who originally greenlit Stranger Things at Netflix, and Thunell worked closely with the brothers during their time there. It turns out creators can be loyal to people, not just corporations.

So if you’ve been asking what’s next for the Stranger Things duo once their monster hit wraps up, the answer looks to be “ambitious” movies at Paramount, with some familiar allies in their corner.

(h/t Variety)